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Beach volleyball
01/11/2018

Nanjing returns with tournament in June

Nanjing, China, November 1, 2018 - For the second-straight season, Nanjing hosts an international women's event a week after Nantong as the tournament held in the national capital during part of the Ming dynasty is the seventh of nine Chinese stops on the 2018-2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar.

Located 260 km from Nantong on the Yangtze River, Nanjing will be staging its fifth FIVB Beach Volleyball event highlighted by the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, and two junior Worlds Championships in 2017 (under-21) and 2019 (under-19).

To be played from June 6-9, the Nanjing Open follows Chinese events in Zhongwei, Qinzhou and Yangzhou last September and October, and 2019 FIVB World Tour tournaments in Xiamen, Jinjiang and Nantong in April, May and June.

After Nanjing hosts the world's elite women's beach volleyball players, the final two Chinese FIVB tournaments set for Qidong and Zhongwei in July and August, respectively.

Josemari Alves and Liliane Maestrini of Brazil captured the 2018 Nanjing title for their second-straight gold medal finish in China after defeating a team from Italy for the Nantong title a week earlier.

With a 2-1 (21-16, 21-23, 15-11) gold medal win in 56 minutes in the 2018 Nanjing finale over Fan Wang and Xinyi Xia of China, Josemari and Liliana completed their two-week stay in the Asian country by winning 12-straight matches.

China missed a second medal at the 2018 Nanjing Open as Amanda Dowdy/Irene Pollock of the United States out-lasted host country favorites Meimei Lin/Lingdi Zhu 2-1 (21-19, 16-21, 16-14) in the 54-minute third-place match.

The host country was assured at least one podium placement at the 2018 Nanjing Open as Wang and Xia defeated Lin and Zhu 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) in a 35-minute semi-final match after Josemari and Liliane bested Dowdy and Pollock 2-0 (21-12, 21-13) in 34 minutes.